UC Regents Set To Vote On Tuition Decrease

In-State Students Expected To Pay Less Next Year

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS Radio) - Good news​ for in-state students in the University of California system.

Under a new $8.7 billion dollar spending plan that the UC Board of Regents is expected to approve Thursday in San Francisco, those students will actually pay slightly less tuition during the 2018-2019 school year.

To cut tuition, officials are eliminating a $60 surcharge put in place in 2007 to pay for legal costs. Base tuition for California residents would become $12,570, according to the Los Angeles Times. Out of state students paid $41,914 in tuition and fees for the 2017-2018 school year, according to the UC admissions website.

KCBS Radio Reporter Margie Shafer spoke with Dianne Klein, press secretary to UC President Janet Napolitano, who said costs will be made up by students from out of the state.

Klein said out-of-state students pay approximately three times the tuition that California residents pay.

Under this plan, the out-of-state students will see a 2.5 percent tuition increase this year. "That additional revenue is key to allowing for the enrollment of California students. We have more California students enrolled at the university than any time in its history, and that enrollment is increasing." In fact, Klein said, "We believe we are going to surpass our three-year goal of an additional ten thousand; we believe there's going to be an additional 15,000 California students enrolled by this fall."

The state legislature approved a $347 million funding increase for the University of California, but, according to Klein, "Two thirds of that are one time funds, and when we're talking about issues such as enrollment and tuition we need ongoing funding because students are at the university for four years."

The university system expects to welcome 137,000 new admissions this fall, including 28,000 transfer students.